The 1961 Football League Cup final was the inaugural League Cup final. It was contested by Rotherham United and Aston Villa over two legs. Aston Villa won 3–2 on aggregate.
Due to fixture congestion, the second leg was not played until after the start of the 1961–62 season. As a result, Villa began their defence of the trophy just eight days after winning it. Though all League clubs were eligible to participate, Arsenal, Sheffield Wednesday, Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers did not enter. The prize money for winning the competition was £750. The two clubs would not play each other again until they met in the same competition in August 2013. Both clubs received first round byes.
Players and officials First leg
1 Roy Ironside2 Peter Perry3 Lol Morgan4 Roy Lambert (c)5 Peter Madden6 Ken Waterhouse7 Barry Webster8 Don Weston9 Ken Houghton10 Alan Kirkman11 Keith BambridgeManager: Tom Johnston 1 Nigel Sims2 Stan Lynn3 Gordon Lee4 Vic Crowe (c)5 Jimmy Dugdale6 Alan Deakin7 Jimmy MacEwan8 Bobby Thomson9 Ralph Brown10 Ron Wylie11 Peter McParlandManager: Joe Mercer
Second leg
1 Geoff Sidebottom2 John Neal3 Gordon Lee4 Vic Crowe (c)5 Jimmy Dugdale6 Alan Deakin7 Jimmy MacEwan8 Alan O'Neill9 Peter McParland10 Bobby Thomson11 Harry BurrowsManager: Joe Mercer 1 Roy Ironside2 Peter Perry3 Lol Morgan4 Roy Lambert (c)5 Peter Madden6 Ken Waterhouse7 Barry Webster8 Don Weston9 Ken Houghton10 Alan Kirkman11 Keith BambridgeManager: Tom Johnston
Road to the final Aston Villa Round 1 ByeRound 2Aston Villa4–0Huddersfield TownRound 3Preston North End3–3Aston VillaRound 3 replayAston Villa3–1Preston North EndRound 4Aston Villa3–3Plymouth ArgyleRound 4 replayPlymouth Argyle0–0Aston VillaRound 4 2nd replayPlymouth Argyle3–5Aston VillaQuarter-finalAston Villa3–0WrexhamSemi-final (1st leg)Burnley2–2Aston VillaSemi-final (2nd leg)Aston Villa1–1BurnleySemi-final replayAston Villa2–1Burnley (at Old Trafford)Rotherham United Round 1 ByeRound 2Leicester City1–2Rotherham UnitedRound 3Rotherham United2–0Bristol RoversRound 4Bolton Wanderers0–2Rotherham UnitedQuarter-finalRotherham United3–0PortsmouthSemi-final (1st leg)Rotherham United3–2Shrewsbury TownSemi-final (2nd leg)Shrewsbury Town1–1Rotherham United (Rotherham United win 4–3 on aggregate)
References
from Soccerbase Second leg from Soccerbase